


Faded Light

by Ahtohallann



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bisexuality, Canon Lesbian Relationship, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, Force Bond (Star Wars), Internal Conflict, Mutual Pining, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Pansexual Character, Romance, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Star Wars References
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:47:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25409401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahtohallann/pseuds/Ahtohallann
Summary: In which a rebel pilot falls in love with a member of the dark side.
Relationships: Original Sith Character(s)/Original Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	Faded Light

EGERAL

“You’re almost there. Be careful.”

“Of course.”

“I’m serious, Alycia. No theatrics. Stick to the mission.”

“I got it,” she muttered. She wasn’t a child and certainly didn’t need to be told what to do.

She skimmed over the frosted land, weaving through the blizzard that raged around her. Her vision had long since flooded white and was now simply a whirlwind of snow and icy ground. Perhaps no other color existed on this horrid planet. 

Her ship shuddered beneath a new torrent of hail and snow. She winced, even her own thoughts seemed to drown beneath that incessant pounding. It sounded like a small army was banging on the metal, trying to dismantle it piece by piece.

“There it is.” Karina’s voice, accompanied by static, rang through her earpiece. 

“I think I see it.” Alycia grinned. 

The metallic outline of the base shone through the storm. Tiny white forms patrolled the outside, nearly invisible amongst the snow. She slowed, swerving through the chaos that raged around her.

“What do you see?” Karina demanded. “Any weapons?”

“Not yet, although there are lots of stormtroopers.” Alycia squinted through the hail. “I think I could take some of them out.”

“Focus, Alycia! This is just surveillance.”

She continued to approach. It would be so easy, they were all completely unprotected, out in the open. Besides, why not do something extra helpful while she was here? Surely the officers would appreciate that?

She pressed down on the thrusters, shooting towards the figures. Karina was saying something in her ear, but it drowned beneath the pounding hail and the thrill of danger. The storm outside faded away. She was so close. She could almost do it.

Then a flash of red pierced the air and she was careening off to the side, narrowly avoiding the blast. She saw it now: a cannon, perched atop the steel walls. She spun, twirling out of the way of another shot. 

“They have cannons,” she said quickly. 

“Okay, come back. We don’t need anything else.”

“No,” she muttered. “I can get them.”

Another blast whizzed past her ship, scraping the wing and sending an explosion of sparks into the air. The stormtroopers pointed at her now, weapons raised. She was almost there.

She grinned, pressing down on the trigger. Within moments, an array of shots had blown the stormtroopers away with a satisfying boom. Then she was racing away, chased by several bolts of red light that came precariously close to her ship.

Every inch of her buzzed with excitement. There was something so thrilling about being so close to danger. It coursed through her, pooling at her fingertips. She itched to press the buttons that would bring her back towards the base again, but static and Karina’s furious voice were already bellowing in her ear. 

She contemplated pulling the earpiece out, but that would get her in real trouble. Instead, she just tuned out the fiery words that continued to come through the piece. She had already heard them a hundred times before.

She was sick of it. She could make her own decisions, she didn’t need Karina always yelling at her about being too reckless. Sure, she could be reckless sometimes, but she wasn’t dead yet, so really, what was the problem?

ILLOS

“Alycia!” 

She sighed. Of course Karina was waiting at the landing pad, slim frame stiff and her mouth set in a thin line. And of course Jayven was standing right beside her, broad arms crossed against his chest. This was going to be wonderful.

She stepped out of her ship and met their gazes. “Nothing even happened, they didn’t get me once. I’m honestly fine, and I got the stormtroopers.”

Jayven shook his head, sighing. “Are you kidding me? You could’ve gotten hurt. That’s not even what you were supposed to be doing.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t get hurt. And I did the surveillance, and I got the stormtroopers, so really, I think everything went well.”

He rolled his eyes. “But you keep taking too many of these risks! It’s not worth risking your life over a few stormtroopers, especially when that’s not what you were there to do. This can’t keep happening!” 

They were back at it again with the risks. She could decide what risks she wanted to take, she didn’t need them breathing down her neck all the time, especially Jayven.

She folded her arms. “I just thought that I would help, okay? I’m sorry.”

“You could help by not dying,” Jayven muttered. 

She couldn’t help but glower at him. Whenever she did something bold to help the Rebellion, she was reprimanded and told that she was too reckless. If he did something like that, he was rewarded and praised. She never got the same recognition that he did, she never had, especially from their parents.

“Remember when you got hurt? That can’t happen again,” he pressed. “We just want you to be safe.”

She cringed at the memory: her ship skidding across the ground, shattered metal spearing her abdomen. Then only to be followed by months of lying in bed, not being able to do anything and having to rely on Jayven for everything. 

She reached for the jagged scar across her stomach. It was an unpleasant reminder of an even worse memory. 

Getting hurt again didn’t sound appealing. “I guess so,” she mumbled.

“Good job today though. We got everything that we needed,” Karina interjected, warmth seeping into her voice. “We’ll be able to destroy those Empire bastards soon.”

Alycia nodded at that. They were making steady progress, and getting information about Empire bases would certainly help them. Perhaps they could finally rid the galaxy of that evil, and she could carry out what her parents always wished for her and Jayven.

But how long would that take? How much of her life would she spend fighting against an evil that seemed never-ending? How long would she spend being ordered around by others, not being able to make decisions for herself?

“Alycia, come on.” Jayven was moving away, gesturing for her to follow. “We should go inside, it’s too hot out here.”

She frowned, she hadn’t even noticed the heat, perhaps she was finally getting used to it after so many years. Illos had always been insufferable, with its blistering humidity and overgrown mess of a jungle. The disgusting bugs didn’t help either.

Then she was following Jayven towards the tunnels that would lead them into the rebel base. Karina walked in step beside her.

“You were good today,” she assured her. “I knew I trained you well. It takes a skilled pilot to navigate a blizzard like that one. I wish I could’ve seen it.”

Alycia smiled, sometimes it seemed like Karina was the only person who noticed what she did. At least she could count on one person to do that.

ILLOS

They sat together in Alycia’s room, idly watching a hologram as it played on loop. The banthas flickered as they bumped heads, clashing momentarily before one ran away with the other in pursuit. They returned a few moments later, only to repeat the same endless loop. It was not entertaining in the slightest.

“I’m sorry for earlier you know,” Jayven said softly. “I don’t mean to yell, I just get worried. It sucked when you got hurt before.”

“You’re telling me.” She chuckled. “It’s alright. Besides, I’ve gotten used to the yelling.”

He rolled his eyes, slapping her lightly. “Shut up. You deserved it anyways.”

“Sure.”

“Seriously though. You need to be careful. Imagine what mother and father would do if you died. They were so upset when you got hurt.”

“I guess so.” Alycia turned away. 

It certainly hadn’t felt like they had been upset, they had only visited her once. Besides, they barely even talked to her anymore. They only ever talked to Jayven because apparently he was the golden boy.

Yet she didn’t want to cause them more pain, they had already suffered enough. She should definitely avoid further injury.

The hologram flickered in front of her, then sputtered out when the banthas clashed together. It was soon replaced by the image of General Bandile and his everlasting scowl. Jayven shot to his feet.

“We’ve received important intel.” Bandile’s voice was hard. “Come to the technical headquarters.”

Alycia stood up. That sounded intriguing, perhaps something exciting was going to happen. Then again, it could be nothing, it was hard to tell with him.

“He seemed grumpier than usual,” Jayven remarked.

“That’s honestly impressive, I didn’t think that was possible.”

He chuckled in response.

Several minutes later, they were gathering in a large room, searching for a place amongst the crowd. Someone knocked into Alycia. She looked up at him, he stared blankly back then continued on. She frowned.

The shuffling stopped after several moments, and the room was plunged into silence, only broken by the beeping of computers and the occasional mutter. Alycia glanced at Jayven warily, this seemed stranger than usual.

Bandile took his place at the forefront of the group. He cleared his throat. “I will waste no time. We have reason to believe that the Empire has recruited someone capable of using the force.” Murmurs erupted throughout the room. “We’ve found numerous victims who appear to have been injured by a lightsaber…”

His words faded. Images of her father, his arm severed and skin peeling with red-hot burns, flashed before her eyes. A lightsaber had destroyed his life, had caused so much pain and suffering. And now Bandile was saying that someone was still out there, someone capable of single-handedly destroying lives, someone capable of committing unspeakable evils. This could be the same person who had cost her family everything.

She clenched her fists, eyes snapping to Jayven’s. Barely concealed fire flickered in his gaze. They needed to find whoever that person was. They needed to hunt them down.

Bandile’s words were distant, dulled by the roar of thoughts. Even if this wasn’t the same person who had ruined her family so many years ago, they were certainly capable of doing it to others, inflicting immeasurable pain and tearing worlds apart. 

“... we will find this person, and we will stop them.” His words came rushing back. “We are going to get more information and track them down. This is our top priority.”

He must’ve said something else after that, because suddenly people were shuffling around and murmuring to each other. Immediately, a calloused hand was reaching for her, tugging her through the dispersing crowd. 

Alycia would be on those missions. She would be hunting them down, would be killing them and stopping that evil. There was simply no other option. 

The deafening murmurs had vanished at some point, replaced by the steady clicking of her boots against the floor. A pair of rough hands found her shoulders, followed by the dull sound of Jayven’s voice.

“Alycia! Focus!”

She shook her head. Somehow, they had ended up in her room. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

He sighed, taking a step back. “This sucks.”

Perhaps not how she would phrase it, but true nonetheless. 

“Are you okay?” he asked. 

She sighed, taking a step and collapsing on her bed. “Yeah, I’m alright I think. It just surprised me, like I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Neither was I.”

The air was thick around them. It caught in her lungs.

“I definitely need to talk to father.” He took a deep breath. “I’m just so angry, and sad, and upset. I don’t know.”

“Me too.” She buried her head in her hands. “I can’t believe that there’s someone else out there, doing who knows what. They could be anywhere right now, doing something terrible to someone. It’s horrible, and evil, and just -- just horrible.”

They fell into silence, her words heavy in the air. 

“Do you think that it’s the same person who…” he trailed off, unspoken words hanging between them.

It was certainly possible, the same person could still be operating, even after all these years. 

“I’m not sure.” She frowned. “I hope so, then we can kill them ourselves.”

Jayven’s brow furrowed. “I don’t want to deal with that. I hope that whoever did that to him is already dead.”

Another pause filled the space between them. How could he accept such uncertainty? Besides, wouldn’t it be better to get justice themselves?

“I’m going on those missions, to find them I mean, even if Bandile doesn’t want me to. I’ll -- I don’t know what I’ll do but I’m going,” she said.

“Definitely.” He nodded his head vigorously. “We need to know, no matter what. We need answers.”

And revenge. Her parents’ whole life had been devoted to the Rebellion, and whoever attacked father had ensured that he would never fight again. They had confined him and mother to a life of laying in bed and meandering around a small house on an average planet. They had taken everything from them.

“We’ll find them, we’ll hunt them down.”

A tiny thrill coursed through her at the thought. Finally, she would be doing something purposeful, something other than boring surveillance missions that never resulted in anything. And when she caught them, because she would, she’d be a hero.

ILLOS

Two days had passed. Two whole days with no new information, and no missions sent out to investigate. It was driving Alycia absolutely mad.

She sat on a vacant landing pad, legs dangling over the lake below. This was perhaps the only place on Illos where she could see the sky, otherwise blotted out by the jungle foliage. It was nice to be able to see the sun for once and to watch the various ships piercing the blue horizons above. Where were they going? Were they simply enjoying freedom or were they off on missions?

Her skin prickled with heat and she was almost certainly getting sunburnt, but it was far better than being inside the base. It was so dreary in there, with the cramped tunnels and musty air. It always felt like there was nowhere to go and no space for thought, everything about it was too small, too caging.

It had been especially dull these past few days, there had been absolutely nothing to do. She had sulked around the base, roaming the tunnels and pestering Jayven and Karina out of boredom. At least they had something to do, as they were responsible for helping to plan their next moves. She had tried to get information out of them, but they had insisted that she would know soon. 

She just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere. Even a surveillance mission would be interesting at this point. Well, that might be stretching it a little.

The low grumble of an engine sputtered to life behind her. She whipped around and was immediately greeted by the sight of Jamal fumbling with his ship, body bathed in golden light. Curls of dark hair swirled around his face, framing his cutting jawline and lips pressed together in concentration. 

“Alycia!” He waved.

“Hi!” She grinned, praying that her voice wouldn’t fail. “Where are you going?”

“They want me to pay a visit to someone on Pearri.” He shrugged.

“Please take me with you,” she pleaded, hands together in mock prayer. “I need something to do.”

He chuckled, eyes sparkling. “I wish I could, I have to go though.”

“Well, be safe,” she said lamely.

He smiled and climbed into his ship, giving her one last wave. Within moments, the engines were roaring and the wind was threatening to push Alycia into the lake as his ship shot away. 

Of course nothing would ever come of her and Jamal, he’d never taken a special interest in her, just like everyone else on this planet, but she could still hope. 

She turned to resume her position on the edge of the landing pad but was stopped by a familiar beeping. She fumbled for her transmitter, excitement buzzing at her fingertips. Finally, something must be happening.

She nearly dropped the small device as she pulled it from her pocket. “Meet me at my room immediately,” Karina’s voice rang through the speaker. 

Alycia grinned, that sounded promising. Perhaps she would finally be chasing her mystery person, or, at the very least, she would get to leave Illos for a little while. Either would be exciting compared to these last few days.

She practically ran into the base and through the tunnels, earning several angry glares as she pushed past people. Soon, she was pounding on the door to Karina’s room.

“You made it here quickly.” The door swung open. “Come in.”

Alycia shuffled into the room, heart hammering in her chest. “Is it something interesting? Like something other than surveillance I mean? Not that I wouldn’t go on a surveillance mission, but-”

Karina held up her hand. “Just be patient. I promise I’ll tell you.”

“Sorry.”

“There’s an Imperial Star Destroyer lingering just outside of the atmosphere.” That was certainly interesting. “You and several other pilots are going to survey their activity and tap into their communication signals. We need to know if they’re here because they know we’re here, or if they are simply passing by.”

Her heart sunk. This didn’t even have anything to do with the Empire’s mystery person. “So really, it’s just more surveillance?”

“Yes.” Karina arched her brow, challenging her to complain.

“Alright.” At least it was better than nothing. 

“This is serious, Alycia. We need this information.”

She nodded. Of course it was serious, but that didn’t make it fun. 

“Go now. This mission must be completed immediately.” She gave her a small smile. “You’re a great pilot, don’t forget it. Be safe.”

“Of course.”

She turned on her heel and jogged out of the room. At least she was finally going to be flying again, albeit not very far. The idea of more surveillance wasn’t particularly enticing, but it would have to do for now, at least until they started sending missions out to find their mystery person.

Several minutes later she was at the landing pads, clambering into her ship and flicking on the power. A shudder passed through her ship as the engine roared to life beneath her.

She shoved her earpiece in. “Karina?”

“I’m here.”

The low grumble of engines around her signified that the others were ready. Her ship jolted off the ground, soon followed by the rest of the squadron. She turned her attention towards the blue expanse above.

Her ship shot away. She grinned, there was something so exhilarating about flying, about being able to go wherever she wanted. Well, she couldn’t go anywhere, but at least it felt that way. 

It had been thrilling the first time she had flown. Father had ordered that she stay within Degasou’s atmosphere, but it still felt as if she could go anywhere, do anything. Reality had since dulled that thrill, but it was ever-present, always lingering at her fingertips.

“Sending you the coordinates now,” Karina said. “Don’t overshoot it.”

Her GPS beeped, she glanced at it. Wow, that Star Destroyer really was close. 

Her ship broke through the atmosphere. Immediately she was met by the Star Destroyer, an omen of death as it loomed over Illos. It sucked the light from around it, smothering the glow of distant stars. 

Perhaps this would be fun after all.

“Not too close. Just close enough to intercept their signals,” Karina commanded.

“I got it.” 

She was merely a speck of dust compared to the Star Destroyer towering over her, dwarfed by the sheer might of it. Everything around her seemed darker than before, more suffocating, as if the presence of the Empire was able to shift the fabric of space itself. 

She hovered amongst the rest of her squadron, just out of range of Empire radar. Well, at least she hoped she was out of range.

“I’m gonna start tapping into their signals now, hopefully.” She fumbled with the buttons. Intercepting messages was harder than she remembered.

Minutes passed. She jammed the buttons down, this was taking longer than expected. Had the others already broken into their communication lines? Was she doing something wrong?

Static burst through her radio. “... Imperial Star Destroyer 0311. We are en route to Mirracith.”

Alycia breathed a sigh of relief. “Karina, they just said that they’re traveling to Mirracith.”

“Good, they don’t know we’re here.”

“I think that I could-” Her ship started to tremble, metal rattling around her. “Something’s happening.”

Her ship was steadily shifting towards the side of the Star Destroyer. She lunged for the controls, pushing the thrusters in the opposite direction. Nothing happened. 

“I -- I think I’m caught in a tractor beam. My ship is going towards the Star Destroyer and I can’t really stop it.” She whipped around, the rest of the squadron was definitely being pulled in too.

“We’re sending up our fleet right now.” Karina’s voice was hard. “We’ll get you out. Stay safe until then, Alycia.”

There really was no way to stay safe right now. She tore out her earpiece and smashed it in her palm, she couldn’t allow the Empire any extra information. Her ship was steadily drawing near to the stark steel walls.

How could she get out of this? Could she fight them? Probably not, there would be too many of them and they would just kill her. As much as she wanted to tear the Empire to shreds, she needed to cooperate until the rebel fleet was able to reach her. 

She fidgeted with the levers. There really was nothing that she could do, she simply had to wait and hope for the best. Her life was in the hands of others, and what a terrifying thought that was.

She took a steadying breath. She would survive this. Besides, at least this mission was turning out to be interesting after all.

IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER 0311

The stormtroopers shoved Alycia into the cell. She whirled around, ready to spit curses at them, but was greeted by the door slamming in her face. Bastards. 

The room was tiny and barren, filled only by the sharp scent of metal and a sickly fluorescent light. All sound had seeped into the steel walls, leaving Alycia alone with the pound of her heart.

She paced across the room, nails biting into her palm. What she wouldn’t give to be able to blow this entire ship into the void, every inch of it reeked with darkness and the promise of unspoken evil. If only she had the strength to tear it all apart.

She slammed her fists on the door. Screw being safe, if those stormtroopers returned, she would make sure that they never made it off this ship. At least she would be taking evil out of the world with her. Perhaps then her parents would be proud of her, knowing that she had fought to the last breath to help their precious Rebellion. If she was lucky, maybe even the rebel officers would finally know who she was.

Tears stung the edges of her vision as she pushed herself away from the door. The Rebellion would be arriving soon, assuming they’d remembered that she’d been captured, she just had to not do anything rash for a little while.

She slumped down against the wall and allowed her head to rest against the steel. The cold press of metal wasn’t entirely unwelcome against the heat that radiated from her skin. It actually felt nice, grounding even.

How many minutes had passed? Surely it wasn’t many, but time had become inconsequential amidst her fury. The rebel fleet needed to arrive soon, this cell was quickly becoming unnerving.

Muffled voices sounded outside of the door. Alycia shot to her feet and moved to the dead center of the room, clenching her fists. There was no way that she would show them any weakness, they needed to know that she wouldn’t submit quietly. She would never-

The door swung open.

A woman stepped into the room. Dark hair tumbled around her shoulders, framing her elegant features. She was tall, draped in dark robes that clung tightly to her lean frame. Metal glinted at her waist. A lightsaber. Could this be...?

Gray eyes scrutinized her body, regarding her with unmasked boredom, before finding Alycia’s gaze. They locked eyes. 

Alycia fought down the instinct to look away and held her gaze steadily. The woman raised an eyebrow, something like amusement dancing in her eyes. Her lips curled into a slight smirk.

Seconds crawled past. A part of Alycia crumbled beneath her gaze, but she wouldn’t allow herself to be crushed beneath the rubble. She wouldn’t be the first to break. Not when she had found her mystery person.

“Camille.” A voice sounded in the hallway. “Enemy ships are attacking. Your presence is requested in the hangar immediately.”

The woman released Alycia from her gaze and turned towards the hall with a wicked smile. “If you insist.” 

She cast one final glance at Alycia, then swept out of the room. The door slammed shut behind her.


End file.
